Nitish, Lalu, Manjhi bat for caste census data release

Patna: The Centre's decision to withhold caste-based census data has created a political row in poll-bound Bihar with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Yadav demanding its immediate publication.

Even former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who recently joined the NDA, has also called for release of socio-economic caste census data. Last week Union Ministers - Arun Jaitley and Rao Birender Singh - had released socio-economic caste census, but refrained from making public the number of different castes, minorities and weaker sections.

Apparently sniffing conspiracy by the Centre in withholding data about population of different castes and minorities, the RJD supremo has threatened to take out a march to the Raj Bhawan in the state capital on July 13 next.

"Everybody has a right to know population of his or her caste. People should also know the number of population of a particular caste. We keep hearing many claims about caste-related numbers by many persons. The census figures will show the real numbers," Prasad had told reporters on the sidelines of the RJD's 19th foundation day celebrations at the party office two days ago.

Echoing identical views, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too had said that the data of individual castes was carried out under the composite socio-economic caste census on the demand of the people and that should be made public.